It’s amazing what (sun)light can do for you. We’re talking the magical Vitamin D, said to boost happiness levels, build stronger bones and lower blood pressure. Sunlight can also heal the skin… and generously leave it with little brown gifts called pigmentation. Then there’s the other kind of light called IPL (Intense Pulsed Light), which can also generously lighten the damage dealt. That’s our ZapZapTM for you.

ZapZapTM — An IPL Fairy Tale for the Skin?

The latest introduction to the family of existing treatments, the ZapZapTM series is a suite of IPL treatments targeted at pigmentations, wrinkled/lined skin, acne and acne marks.

IPL isn’t really new to us, but we’d recently given our equipment an overhaul and exchanged our existing Korean technology for the latest, most premium of non-medical grade Spanish Variable Pulse IPL machines that aestheticians are legally licensed to operate. Also, while most other IPL treatments only use blue or green light, our ZapZapTM equipment pairs blue with red light for accelerated recovery.

In other words:

– Better, faster results with even less to no downtime
– It’s good for more than just pigmentations — it’s also great for softening fine lines, heal acne and its marks, balancing excess sebum and brightening the skin
– Suitable for all skin types
– Doesn’t cause dryness to the skin — we promise

We don’t believe in shortcuts, but this is as close as it gets.

Good Things Come in Threes: ZitZapTM, ZapBrightTM and ZapGlowTM

Meet ZitZap™ — the new best friend that makes our signature QuintessentialTM extraction facial so much better. Designed to — well — zap zits, marks and bacteria away, remarkably enhancing skin’s healing after it’s been uncongested (did I just make that up?) to death.

Imagine this: Results so stark yet subtle, a phone camera can’t capture it… but your friends will definitely notice the lines that did a mysterious disappearing act! Designed to reduce fine lines, firm and brighten the skin, ZapGlow™ is an IPL treatment that’s perfect for anti-ageing concerns.

With Good Things Come Bad Things Like Nagging

We love the fast results ZapZapTM brings us and our clients, but as with all things, prevention is better than cure. While some skin problems are truly hereditary (and there’s nothing we can do about genes), we can mitigate/prevent them with these quick skincare tips:

A few months ago, we wrote about nostalgia. Then, we’d said that just by looking at the many changes Porcelain had been through, it felt like nothing is ever taken for granted here. Fast forward five months and we’re looking at Porcelain’s latest baby, Porcelain Origins — otherwise known as Singapore’s first smart spa. Do things ever stop moving?

Nope.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Last week, we threw a party like we do it every day. It’s not every day, though, that a smart spa is launched. Suddenly, the pride factor in working for one of Singapore’s boutique cult spa brands shot to the stratosphere. “Hi, I’m Kelly. I do XYZ at Porcelain, Singapore’s first smart spa.” I sound 1000x cooler, already.

“But really, the real kicker here is the boutique spa’s seamless utilisation of digital technology to give you a no BS, super functional luxury experience.”

| Buro 24/7

How About A Tour Around Singapore’s First Smart Spa?

Product Discovery Bar

What we’ve gathered from years of experience (of being human) is… most of us don’t have much love for hovering salespeople. That wasn’t really the most crucial reason we spent so much time visualizing this bar into reality, but it’s an important one.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Welcome to our official product playground. The product discovery bar’s camera intuitively senses your presence, greets you, then helps you explore Porcelain’s products in a pretty fun way. Pick up any one of the four products in the center of the bar — they each stand for different common skin concerns. You’ll soon find yourself being told (by our smart screen, no less) to pick up the products that are relevant for that particular skin woe… in sequence. Done? That’s your skincare regime right there.

Digital Consultation Rooms

Here, get ready for a paperless consultation and a fun (but not fun-sized) interactive tabletop screen that meets and greets you. Watch as our consultant plays with a tablet (cleverly paired with said screen) and takes you through your skin concerns, treatment recommendations and plans.

Your first reaction might be to touch it just to see if it’s — well, a touchscreen. And you can! And it is! Find out more about different treatments and products this way. Though we weren’t too sure if our guests were really reading or just enjoying the animations…

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Powder Room: Even Mirrors’ IQs Have ↑ Its Game

A typical spa visit ends with a cup of tea to wind down and wrap up the visit. You leave feeling great and head out anticipating a greater day ahead. But naturally, Murphy’s Law strikes, right? You exit the mall with glowing skin in a good mood — only to hear thunder… rolling, angry thunder.

But what if a mirror in a spa could tell you thatmain ? Ingenious.

That said, it does much more than just that. We are such fans of greeting our guests that even our mirrors do it too — apart from the two screens that you’d already read about. So functional are our mirrors, they even tell you precisely how to care for your skin post-thetreatmentyoujustdid. They also send a compliment your way for a confidence boost. It’s so polite, it even asks you to choose your preferred tea flavor while you’re getting ready for the world.

All you need to do to activate this super personalized butler is scan the little QR code in the corner using our Porcelain app.

A Smart Spa Can’t Do Without An App, Can It?

The aforementioned app is another digital baby we recently launched. The third iteration of our Porcelain app reveals a major visual and functional overhaul in a user-friendly way.

Because we tried really hard to be contactable (we had Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp, calls, emails and a live chat as possible platforms to reach us), we might have killed ourselves and clients a little. To make things much easier, this 3rd-generation Porcelain app offers a pocket-friendly way to:

Singapore’s First Smart Spa Is Super Plush

In the main room: Velvet, marble tiles, swathes of bold jewel colours and splashes of gold. Large window mirrors line a wall and an impressive marble-top table occupies the front bit of the café lounge-cum-waiting area.

Inside: What looks like an unassuming space hides a maze of 3 consultation rooms, 14 treatment rooms and leads to a dimly LED-lit hallway. We’ve lovingly dubbed this TheTransition Zone because the stark contrast to the vibrancy outside helps acclimatize you to a mental state of relaxation.

The entire spa’s design takes inspiration from our shophouse beginnings and the delicate balance between nature and technology.

Shophouse elements pepper the store, such as traditional window arches and a main entrance that simulates a shophouse’s own. These are contrasted with a liberal use of marble, velvet and gold accents to lend a modern, luxurious touch to the more conventional features. Behind this design inspiration lies Porcelain’s deep roots in our Singaporean heritage, with a sight on growth beyond just the little red dot, beyond skincare.

Then, mood lights cast rippling pools of “water” and all treatment rooms feature murals of air, sea and land that climb up the side walls to the ceilings. Contrast these with the modern, futuristic touches in the Transition Zone, where LED laser lights create dramatic plays of light that cut across the ceilings, walls and floors.

But Origins is really the farthest thing from pretentious.

We apologize if this post came off a tad over-the-top and vain — but we are pretty pleased this yearS-long project has finally materialized — in Paragon, no less! Excuse us while we pop another bottle of champagne (yes, it’s only Thursday).

When asked what attributes to ageing skin, most would easily throw out answers like a “lack of collagen”. But there’s so much more to that than just collagen and elastin. Bone loss occurs, changing your basic bone structure; constant facial movements and expressions result in wrinkles not just in the skin, but in the muscles themselves! Facial ageing and muscles? They’re definitely a very real thing.

Anyone beyond 40 is no stranger to seeing a different face in the mirror over time. First, there was a slight loss of firmness in the skin… then some fine lines around the eyes and mouth… deeper lines … wrinkles… holy cow, is my jaw sagging now?

Credit: http://freestocks.org

Atrophy, not a trophy

Atrophy is a far cry from its similar-sounding brother… what’s atrophy, really? Simply put, it’s the decrease in muscle mass (wasting away of the muscles, if you will), and this happens in the face as well — resulting in (possibly early) facial ageing.

When we were young…

We had strong bones, toned muscles, and beautiful cheeks. These were thanks to the connective tissues under the skin—tissues that contain tons of collagen fibres (for support) and elastic fibres (for strength and facial flexibility).

As we age, these fibres shrink and deteriorate, along with our muscles, bones, and nerves. They lose mass (or volume), strength and elasticity. This is atrophy, and while the biggest changes appear in our 40s or 50s, they usually begin in the mid-thirties and carry on till we’re older.

And as this happens, our skin starts losing its legendary collagen and firmness. Together with the changes that our bones along our jaws, cheeks and brows go through, we begin noticing sags in our facial features (and self-confidence).

Lifestyle behaviours like smoking, alcohol can also influence muscle atrophy. Even excess sun exposure can result in fibres that can no longer ‘recover’ or ‘bounce back into place with resiliency’, and thus sag.

But guess what? Exercise helps!

Muscles & facial ageing? Kill it with exercise

Credit: Matheus Ferrero

As we said, most focus on “the loss of collagen” and search for treatments that help stimulate collagen growth to help firm skin. Which is great! Why not boost it for longer-lasting, more effective results with some targeted treatments for the facial muscles as well?

Porcelain’s Cryotherapy Intensive (or more recently renamed Arctic ToneTM) is an award-winning treatment that helps people with anti-ageing concerns.

And here, let’s go technical.

Arctic ToneTM: Features for reversing time

Low-Frequency Current

This super-lifting treatment stimulates facial muscles with a patented 4Hz low-frequency current. It sounds terribly painful, but it is not! What the current does is to tone and stimulate the skin’s muscle fibres comfortably — energizing and elevating the facial muscles. The result is a smoother, firmer and more youthful-looking complexion. What you just did there? A good, intensive workout for your facial muscles.

Deeper Stamp Depths

Your skin absorbs products even more intensively now not just with Iontophoresis… Arctic Tone also features deeper Cryostamp depths (from 0.25mm to 0.5mm) for more even more targeted results like pore/scars reduction and skin brightening. Deeper stamp depths* simply mean ingredients penetrate the skin more intensively, plus they address deeper scars as they can stimulate tissue repair further down.

It’s pretty simple and no rocket science:

Low Frequency + Lower Temperatures = Firmer, Toned Skin

Iontophoresis + Deeper Stamp Depths = Brighter, More Nourished Skin

*Note: A higher stamp depth may require longer downtime and may not be suitable for sensitive skin.

Arctic ToneTM: Benefits

Credit: Taylor Boggs

Had enough of science lessons? Us, too.

To cut the long story short, the treatment does do what you know will help with facial ageing:

Arctic ToneTMwill stimulate collagen and elastin production. But it does more than just that. It also stimulates facial muscles, thus toning them. We like to call it exercise for the face.

Cleopatra’s good looks are legendary, thanks to her equally famed beauty rituals. Milk and honey were a staple in her baths to give her soft, moisturized, and glowing skin. And here at Porcelain, we’re just a big a fan of those as much as she was. Milk and honey facials, anyone?

Credit: Van Lanigh

Oh, Honey…

Sidetracking a little…

One fine day in 2018, a woman drove to and parked at a commercial building — promptly getting lost within while trying to get out of the carpark. Somehow, she found herself wandering the kitchen corridors and started panicking in earnest as she’d been lost for over an hour. A gentleman soon rescued the damsel in distress and got her out. Alas, said gentleman was from a prestigious hotel within the premise, and they were searching for an equally esteemed spa partner to work with. With that, a fruitful collaboration was born of The Curious Incident of the Lady in the Daytime.

And the BeespokeTM Honey Facial was Born

This instant rejuvenator is specially designed to deliver radiance to dull, tired skin. The combination of Cryotherapy™ and our signature Shiatsu face massage further lift and rejuvenate skin from within to fight signs of ageing. Complete with LED light therapy, a brightening almond-and-honey scrub, a purifying bee propolis extract plus a milk and honey firming masque, this Beespoke™ Honey Facial is perfect for occasions when you need the fast track to brighter, more hydrated skin.

I’m not sure about you, but that sounds just about #GetYourGlowOn-perfect for the festive season that’s just around the corner. Or for any other time you need a pick-me-up, really.

No matter what age you are, hydration remains the essential solid foundation for great skin – making this set of three essential hydrators an absolute prize. The deal clincher – it also comes with a complimentary limited-edition pouch.

WHAT’S INSIDE:

PERFECT FOR PEOPLE WHO:

– Have skin so dehydrated, they think it’s oily
– Have legit, dry skin
– Frequently complain they can never find a good aloe gel that’s made up of 99% stabilized Aloe Vera
– Have pimples and who can’t find a good spot treatment that also hydrates while zapping zits and that also balances sebum and that also feels featherlight on skin and that also…
– Want a moisturizer that hydrates while providing bursts of antioxidants for brightening and protection from free radicals
– Love natural ingredients like aloe vera, peach, mountain pepper, peony, lemon verbena, tea tree oil…
– Are men who need that extra bit of TLC post-shave
– Are all of the above

Also the definitive SOS kit for acne-afflicted complexions, this bundle contains what Porcelain fans consider as the go-to stars when hormones go haywire, and acne rears its many ugly heads. Ridding skin of p.acnes bacteria and excess sebum while keeping hydration levels up is key.

WHAT’S INSIDE:

PERFECT FOR PEOPLE WHO:

– Zit-prone people
– Have combination-oily skin, including and especially men who are more prone to these skin types
– Are in need of controlling excess shine
– Need a gentle, exfoliating toner that contains mild AHAs, and that hydrates while providing bursts of antioxidants for brightening and protection from free radicals
– Love natural ingredients like aloe vera, coconut, sage, cucumber, tea tree oil, soybean extracts…
– Who are men, especially the ones who believe that they deserve good skin too

WHAT’S INSIDE:

PERFECT FOR PEOPLE WHO:

– Party a lot
– Are very busy
– Have skin so dehydrated, they think it’s oily
– Have legit, dry skin
– Frequently complain they can never find a good face mask that adheres well to their faces
– Suffer from tired, lined eyes
– Love value for money and serums in equal parts: this mask comes with 30ml of serum which you can squeeze into a 5ml dropper bottle we include with every set!
– Live for multiple-functional gadgets: The Natural Skin Refiner acts as an exfoliator-cum-mask
– Want a mask that hydrates while providing bursts of antioxidants for brightening and protection from free radicals
– Are women, especially mothers, grandmothers, wives and daughters — show them it’s okay to take a break!
– Are men, especially the ones who believe that they deserve good skin too

$99 (U.P. $198)

* Buy any 2 sets with a total value of over $200 and get 1x Porcelain pouch + 1x tin of Porcelain Aurelie tea. The Triple Moisture Kit automatically comes with one of both.